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Duke, UNC Basketball To Begin 23-24 Season Ranked Again

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Highlighted by No. 2-ranked Duke, three Atlantic Coast Conference teams are ranked in the Associated Press Preseason Men’s Basketball Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday. Miami is ranked No. 13, while North Carolina is No. 19.

Virginia also received votes.

The preseason ranking marks the 17th time in which Duke has debuted in the top three in the AP preseason poll and the first time since consecutive preseason No. 1 rankings in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The Blue Devils return four starters and 80 percent of their scoring from their 2022-23 squad that went 27-9 and won the ACC Championship.

Coming off the program’s first-ever trip to the Final Four, Miami is ranked in the preseason AP poll for the first time since the 2017-18 season and the fourth time in program history. The No. 13 ranking also ties the Hurricanes’ highest preseason ranking in program history. Miami returns three starters, including All-ACC performers Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack.

UNC is ranked in the AP preseason poll for the 54th time in program history, which is second most of any program. The Tar Heels are anchored in the middle by graduate forward/center Armando Bacot, who returns for his fifth season after back-to-back First-Team All-ACC seasons. 

The 71st season of ACC men’s basketball begins on Monday, Nov. 6, with 14 teams in action. ACC regular-season play opens on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The ACC’s current 15 member schools have captured three of the last eight NCAA Championships, with 99 NCAA Tournament wins in that span. Current ACC schools have won eight NCAA titles in the last 22 tournaments and own 17 national championships overall. Current ACC member schools have combined for 67 Men’s Final Four appearances and a national-best 664 NCAA Tournament wins. 

The ACC owns the highest all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage of any league (.618).

All 15 league members own 1,000 or more all-time wins, including eight schools with 1,500 or more victories. Four of the top eight and six of the top 30 winningest programs in NCAA Division I basketball history currently reside in the ACC.